The Graffiti South Africa book launch will take place at three prestigious events across the country. The launches will coincide with diverse group exhibitions featuring talented urban and street artists. Other activities include video screenings, street art tours, live painting, sketch wars and book signings. The author will be present at all launches.

Cape Town, 29 January

Space Between, 139 Albert Rd, Woodstock.
Official launch of the new studio and gallery space, Space Between.
‘Urban A’ group exhbition, featuring work by Nardstar*, Ariel23, Ninjabreadboy, Skullboy, Fersyndicate, Steve ‘Crack’, Chris Auret, Jack Fox and r1.
Video screening by Cale Waddacor.
PLUS:
Street art tours in Westridge (SA’s graffiti birthplace) on Friday 30 January and in Woodstock on Saturday 31 January with The Street Is The Gallery Tours.
Book signing and live graffiti at the Open Wall on Saturday 31 January at Side Street Studios (48 Albert Rd).

Open Plan Studio
39 Station Dr, Durban
‘Tracksides’ group show by a selection Durban’s finest urban and graphic artists (Artists TBA).
Sketch wars.
Video screening by Cale Waddacor.
Other entertainment throughout the day.

Event link TBC

Keep up-to-date via the Facebook event pages and our Twitter feed (@graffitiafrica).
Please note that the event itinerary may be subject to changes.

Book your place on one of the street art tours by emailing mail@graffitisouthafrica.com.
The tours are 90-minutes long with very experienced tour guides. Costs vary per tour, all welcome.

Limited copies of the Graffiti SA book are available for purchase at a discounted rate of R650.00 – first come, first served. Reserve your copy to avoid disappointment.

After a four year hiatus the duo known as Gazelle & Invizable have concluded their second and final album called “The Rise & Fall of an Empire” which portraits the cycle of life, death and resurrection within a conceptual narrative of civilization, society on individual, its lifespan and socio-­political ideology. The group shot to critical acclaim when their debut album “Chic Afrique” broke through the South African music scene and into the world, making waves that shook the idea of musical genre with their unique self titled ‘Limpop’ sound. This album is a swan song for the duo as they have decided to let go of the band and focus on personal projects between New York and Cape Town. With their choice cemented they have decided to offer the album to their fans and listeners for free as a sign of gratitude for their faith and support over what was a magical time in South African culture and development, resonating the groups respect of each other and the people that helped to build what was truly a magnificent moment in African dance music.

Two final performances in South Africa will write the last chapter of this iconic group with a show in Cape Town at Assembly on the 24th of January and the final show in Pretoria at Park Acoustics on the 25th of January.

The Rise & Fall of an Empire came to life after traveling across South Africa and putting together an ‘African Orchestra’ to perform an 11 scene or song tale about the infinite cycle of life. This was visually translated by Austrian artists Constantin Demner and Sarah Littasy from Studio Elastic. An incredible art piece was created out of illustration and built into a 3D object with paper which was then filmed and photographed.

On the 24th of January prior to the final Cape Town show this art piece will be installed along with a listening session of the album in the Annex of Assembly courtesy of Red Bull Studios Cape Town where the preliminary recordings was done.

Jean-Marc Johannes was recently featured on SoulID.com, who are choosing and featuring a list of their top 100 athletes from around the world.

“Jean-Marc Johannes is one of the world’s elite skateboarders, who is fully dedicated to progressing the industry. This dedication has earned him a spot as one of the top 100 athletes in the world! Check out his full length feature at http://www.soulid.me/athletes” – SoulID

2 to 6 April 2015 will see the biggest metal festival ever to take place on African soil. Witchfest Open Air 2015 #‎WFOA2015 will be held at the Klein Koperaal Farm just outside Johannesburg and will feature some of the biggest international names in the metal world with the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Hatebreed, Epica and Decapitated (to name just a few) joining the bill. This ensemble of international metal awesomeness will also be supported by the very best the South African metal scene has to offer.

The legendary Jim Rose will be MC along with Marq Vas from South African metal legends Metalmorphosis.

The festival is set to make history as the first of its kind in South Africa.

When Jean-Marc Johannes went to LA last year he filmed with Nigel Alexander for an episode of “A Day with NKA”. He was stoked on the flatground tricks JM was doing and wanted to film it for his channel and this episode.

This holiday I spent a day in PE to visit the homies, so Part A was filmed in that one day. Part B is made up of countless kill sessions through the years at Kings Beach Plaza aka “The Bowl”, a spot that is no more, but will always be remembered and never replaced.

Gone Cruzin is an iPhone edit made up of afternoon city missions with the homies. The idea is that “we’re having fun so might as well film it”.

Open Streets Bree Street, Cape Town, is taking place on 18 January from 9am – 2pm.

It is open to everyone. Come hang out, walk, ride, roll, whatever… The aim is to promote Cape Town as an integrated city.

Open Streets are uniting all non-motorised ‘alternative’ sports/culture to conduct a mass movement on Bree street during Open Streets for the purpose of enjoying the space in whatever legal way we like. Some portable ramps will be facilitated for use on the day but the main emphasis is not only about the obstacles but rather to enjoy the car-free space through healthy recreation, creative expression and bringing together alternative but like minded individuals (so don’t be a stranger with one another and mutual respect is the name of the game).

This is an important event for us as an ‘alternative’ sports/culture to make our presence known to the public and particularly the City of Cape Town so that we may prove to them that these sports/activities can be recognised as something positive, impactful and constructive on youth, society and Cape Town as a whole.

The best thing about skating is that it keeps us away from the streets and drugs. – Happy, 12, Skateistan South Africa student

Over 100 students already participate in Skateistan South Africa’s regular programming and this number is growing every week. They now need a space of their own for the kids to learn and play! You can help them fund the creation of a safe learning center and skatepark in central Johannesburg by making a donation.

Scheduled to open in mid-2015, Skateistan South Africa’s skate school will be a safe space for ages 5-25, with a focus on girls, migrants and vulnerable youth.

So far they’ve raised 58,275 USD during the Keep Skateistan Rolling campaign. With your help they can reach our goal of 60,000 USD and continue to provide safe spaces and quality programming to over 1200 youth each week.

Your investment in Skateistan allows them to ensure their skate schools in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa are safe, inspiring environments for our students, especially the skater girls.

You have to think bigger than the streets. Think bigger than where you come from. – Ayanda Mnyandu, Skateistan South Africa Operations Officer

In South Africa, children under the age of 18 make up 37% of the population. Youth face a range of issues such as urban poverty, health issues (particularly related to HIV), lack of employment opportunities, social/racial divisions, and gender-based violence. In our focus area of central Johannesburg, young people, especially those from low income and migrant backgrounds, face violence, drug abuse, poor quality education, and social isolation.

Located on 990m2 of donated land in central Johannesburg, the skate school will include a containerized education and training center, together with an outdoor skateboard plaza (concept pictured above). Programming will run six days per week, with a capacity to teach up to 700 children weekly.

The learning center will feature a classroom, study lab, office, and multi-purpose rooftop space. Beside it will be an outdoor skate plaza (the only one in central Johannesburg). The entire space will reflect the creativity, inspiration and new opportunities for the youth.

Watch our new “Safe Spaces” video to see what Skateistan youth think about having a safe space to skate and learn. In a neighborhood that includes both a rundown, low-income industrial area and the growing artistic community of Maboneng, the Skateistan South Africa skate school promises to be a transformative and exciting space for youth coming from all walks of life.

The long-term vision is for the skate school to become a training hub for youth to create and lead their own community projects in South Africa and the continent.

What Your Donation Can Do

Every bit counts. To give you an idea of just what your donation can do, here are some examples:

$10 – Emergency first-aid supplies for student injuries

$50 – Monthly internet connection for student exchange programs

$100 – Wood to repair our mini ramp in Johannesburg each year

In-kind sponsorship to reduce costs. If you area able to provide shipping containers in South Africa please contact us at development@skateistan.org.